Teach me how to tumble!

[Crawlin]

A wire basket from a deep fryer held over a bucket or tub works great for separating brass from media. Just dump your tumbler into the basket and agitate it over a bucket or tub. It will separate the brass in seconds.

You can pick up a wire basket at flea markets, Goodwill, etc for almost nothing.

I use a Rubbermaid tub which allows me to store the tumbler and basket inside it when not in use.

Thanks for the advice, I have started something like this. I picked up a plastic pasta strainer from target for 99 cents, put it in a garbage bag, and shake just like I'm cooking. After that, I take the media and just use the garbage bag like a funnle and pour the media right back in the tumbler. Seems to work great for me.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

I just have the tumbler sitting in a kitty litter box. When I'm done I strain (using the slotted lid) it into the box, remove brass, then pour back into the tumbler.

 

[Hikingman]

Dust?

Okay, here's the trick for dust. This works for indoors ops. Take a sheet of glad wrap or your favorite clear plastic and cut it or tear it to cover the entire top of the tumbler plus an inch or two more for complete coverage (remember to poke a hole in the center for the tumbler post). After adding brass, media, and polish, place the plastic sheet over the top of the tumbler-with the small hole in plastic fitting over the post. Then, add the tumbler lid and the screw attachment that holds the lid on. This provides an environment - free of dust in my bathroom! I can view the tumbling progress by looking through the clear plastic wrap and slotted-lid on my Lyman Turbo Pro 1200. YMMV

 

[RustyFN]

If you use the dryer sheet trick can you still use polish?

 

[Crawlin]

Rusty, I have been. It seems to work fine, but by no means and I an expert

 

[Clark]

What's a "dryer sheet"?

 

[MD_Willington]

Get them from the dollar store or whatever it's called in your area... Thought it was weird the first time I saw it used on some .45 ACP brass, but it worked like a champ.

 

[toecutter]

My .45 has never been so cuddly!

+1 for this stuff. I came across a posting here, or somewhere else about adding dryer sheets to your media. They do a good job of collecting the flotsam that would otherwise be building up in your tumbling media. Purists might say "that stuff is what makes the brass get polished" sure, but the dust is really obnoxious.

Also, the swiffer dusting things, and the random dusting mittens I use for dusting the apt are also great.

 

[timn]

I have a Lyman 2500 tumbler that likes to watusi ( that's an old dance for some of our chronologically challenged members) around the bench or floor. I'll admit that I load it pretty full.
I had some of those rubber snap together floor pads laying around so I cut one about six inches larger than the tumbler's footprint and it stopped dancing. Also, it really cut down on the noise.
BTW, thanks mucho for the dryer sheet tip. It makes my wife happy that we can recycle yet another household item.

 

[DMF38]

I also have a Frankford Arsenal tumbler and it's been great. I use the walnut media 2/3 full, and I add some Flitz polishing liquid every few times that I use the tumbler. I don't think it's necessary to use the liquid polish every time. I tumble .45 Colt and do about 150 casings at a time, and I let it run for 2 hours. I don't like to overload it because it's harder on the machine, and takes longer to get the casings clean. I cut up little squares of paper towels such as Bounty and add them to the media. My tumbler came with the rotary separator, which works great, but it does create a lot of dust so I do that step outside. Boy am I glad I bought that tumbler!

 

[Cosmoline]

This is a good video breaking it down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8c-abWbpG4

 

[gandog56]

Corn cob is soft and will polish the cases as it cleans them, but I should think it takes more time than walnut. Walnut is coarse and gritty. It really gets in there and scrubs the grime off the cases but in my opinion, it doesn't put on so nice a polish. It tends to leave them with kind of a matte finish-- at least mine does, which is criminally dirty...

Is there any reason you can't compromise with a 50/50 mix of corncob and walnut? I know if I use walnut it gets the really dirty shells cleaner, but the corncob puts on a high gloss finish. I'm going to try it out my next batch of dirty shells and see what happens.

 

[WestWorld]

On a side note... I have the exact same tumbler. Remove the bowl and make sure the bolts/nuts holding the motor under the base plate are snug. The first one I got shook it's self to death in 1 hour... the motor dropped off, got stuck and burned out.

Returned it to the store, checked (and tightened) the new one up snug and has been good since.

 

[mainebear]

Whats the deal with the lead? I just aquired my first tumbler, and use it on the floor of my den with corn cob media. My cat likes to sit on a chair next to the thing and watch it work. Is he is danger? I like to sit with him. Am I in danger? Is this left over lead in the cases? I just never thought of this. Maybe I ought to move it (the tumbler, not the cat) to the basement.

 

[JA]

I keep 3- 1 gallon wide mouth plastic jars like mayonase comes in beside my tumbler.
Jar 1- has new corn cob.
Jar 2- corn cob with Midway brass polish added.
Jar3- has dirty corn cob/brass polish.
I use the new corn cob to remove the lube from reloaded ammo. The corn cob with brass polish to clean medium to lightly dirty brass. Then the dirty corn cob is used for really dirty/muddy brass to clean the bulk of the gunk off before using the corn cob/polish in jar 2.
I have found that if you fill up the tumbler with corn cob and add 2-3 times the amount of polish the directions call for then let it run for about 30 mins the corn cob gets coated with the polish and remains kinda damp which cuts the dust down to zero.
As the corn cob in jar 2 gets dirty/turns black and starts taking a long time to clean brass I throw out the dirty corn cob in jar 3. Then the contents of jar 1 goes into jar 2 and polish is added. Then contents of jar 2 goes into jar 3. Fresh corn cob is put into jar 1. I make sure to wipe the inside of the bowl out with a paper towel every time I use it.
I have found that rotating the corn cob in the jars and using the dirty corn cob as a pre cleaner on muddy brass that my consumption of corn cob and polish is cut in half of the amount I used to use on a yearly basis.
When tumbling I found out that cleaning speed is directly proportional to how full the tumbler is. The tumbler being 2/3 full will cut your cleaning time in half. But the trade off is you can't clean as many brass at one time and the noise the tumbler makes is really increased.
I usally fill the bowl 1/2 full with brass and then fill it up with corn cob and run it for about 1 miniute with the top off. Then stop it,finish filling the bowl up to within 1/2 inch of the top,and put the lid on. While filling the tumbler this way slows down the speed of cleaning the trade off is the sound is cut down to a hum. So I can have the tumbler running beside the loading bench without it being anoying.

 

[Luggernut]

I never tried the drier sheets. Does it give the brass I nice girly smell?

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I bought the walnut stuff that is meant to go into a reptile cage, you can find it at most big pet shops (often easier to find than reloading shops). Since the critters can't handle dust well the stuff is very low dust (to start with at least).

I have been added a wad of "Never Dull" metal polish each few runs. It's cloth filled with metal polish so it's kept the dust to a minimum.

However, now I'm worried about the dust so will move mine outside when it's running. Have kids and I don't need them dosed with lead. I've always emptied it outside just so that if I make a mess it's easier to handle.

Does anyone have a link to the info/research that was done on the tumbler lead dust? Just curious to be sure it's not some internet myth and for my own reading. It makes sense but would like to see the numbers.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Timn...Do you go back far enough to remember "The Pony"?

Another item if you prefer not use dryer sheets is to cut a paper towel into 4 equal pieces and loosely ball one or two of the pieces up and throw them in with the cases.

 

[robertbank]

May have missed this but I use used dyer sheets. Seem to work better for me than fresh ones.

Had some corn media left over from last change so I just added to the walnut I bought this time around. Works.

Nu-Finish Car wax is cheaper than any of the brass cleaning products and cuts the polishing time down.

Take Care

Bob

 

[The Bushmaster]

And you have to be careful with brass cleaning products as some have amonia in them...

 

[JA]

In the 1970's welfare doctors noted a increase in the number of inner city children under the age of 3 living in govt. project housing showing signs of lead poisining. It was traced to unsupervised children eating lead based paint chips.
But by the time the media got a hold of the reports the cause was the children were living in housing that had been painted with lead based paint and just being around the lead paint caused lead poisining. Then panic set in and all lead based paints were banned.
So unless you let your kids lick the tumbler's bowl after using it the danger of lead poisining from the dust is zero. Remember the two key words in the govt. reports were "injestion" and "unsupervised" not breathing,touching,or just being around some thing that has lead in it.

 

[RustyFN]

So unless you let your kids lick the tumbler's bowl after using it the danger of lead poisining from the dust is zero. Remember the two key words in the govt. reports were "injestion" and "unsupervised" not breathing,touching,or just being around some thing that has lead in it.

It just might be better than the frosting bowl that mom always had. Dad, can I lick the bowl.

 

[sigman4rt]

The key words with lead are ingestion and inhalation. Remember not to inhale the air near a tumbler that is operating unless the cover is on. The other important point to remember is to wash your hands imediately after handling the tumbler, used media and or brass that has been cleaned. The outside surface of the casings is covered with lead dust even though it appears bright and shiny. If you handle cleaned brass and then go to eat the sandwich that the wife made you or go outside to smoke a cigarette without washing your hands you will be ingesting lead dust. If you don't wash it off your hands it will eventually end up in your bloodstream, remember, everything that comes in contact with your skin, unless washed off, ends up in your bloodstream. Not to sound scary or anything, you just need to practice good sanitary habits. That said, it's a lot of fun, enjoy!!

 

[The Real Wyatt]

I tumble in walnut for about an hour.

Seperate and resize/decap

Then tumble in corncob with polish for about an hour and a half.

Cases cme out beautifully polished and shiny just like I like 'em.

 

[Walkalong]

Fill tumbler 3/4 to 7/8 full of corncob, add Franklin Arsenal brass polish. Run overnight while sleeping or all day when at work and brass is slick and shiny. My Lyman tumbler has been forgotten and left run for 6 days once (out back in the shed) and routinely run 8-12 hrs at a time and after 12 years it is still going strong.